English 
Francais 
عربي 
New vaccine to combat the formidable shigella form of dysentery?
[mis à jour le 16 March 2009 à 18h19]
Could we be on the point of perfecting a vaccine against shigellosis, a form of bacillary dysentery that can have such devastating effects in humanitarian crises such as natural disasters, wars and refugee camps?
That is the opinion of French researchers at the Pasteur Institute and at INSERM (the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) who recently published results they believe to be promising.
The candidate vaccine is the product of research carried out at the Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis Unit (INSERM 786) and the code name is SC 599. It is a living attenuated vaccine obtained by targeted inactivation of certain genes of the shigella dysenteriae bacterium.
Immunity can be achieved naturally (but quite rarely) in endemic zones, explains Philippe Sansonetti who led the study. As our candidate vaccine is able to mimic the natural protective immunity triggering process, we are hopeful that it will be effective.
The first (randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled) phase II trial has indeed proved a success. The immune response induced in the volunteers suggests that vaccine SC 599 could confer a certain degree of protection, the authors point out. Of course, new trials on humans are needed to confirm or invalidate the advantages of this candidate vaccine.
Print this article
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send to a friend
Convert to pdf
Copyright Authorization
405 article(s)
Pregnant? Make sure you take care of your teeth!
Major stress in early pregnancy? You’re likely to have a girl!
United States – obesity figures level off
Viagra® – life through a blue-tinted haze…
Are you doing too much sport for your joints?
Lack of sleep can have long-term effects on health
Dieting – why do I put all the weight back on … and more?
1 feature(s)
